Loved
by star429
Summary: A Brallie one-shot. Please read!


A/N No worries, I'm still planning on finishing my other story! This is just a one-shot I've been pondering on since seeing that spoiler picture of Callie on the porch in 3.15. I have no idea where this came from. Let me know what you think!

Callie felt Brandon settle next to her on their porch long before she looked over at him. They sat in silence for a couple of beats. Surprisingly, it wasn't as awkward as it has been between them since Idyllwild. Something about nighttime made it easier to be comfortable, to be honest.

"What's wrong?" Brandon finally asked, softly.

Callie smiled, sadly. "You always know when I'm upset." She didn't ask how. She didn't have to; she had the same sense for him.

He waited, and she felt that familiar sense of intimacy settle around them, even though they weren't so much as holding hands. It used to scare her when that happened. Then, she convinced herself that it happened because he was her best friend; of course she felt comfortable with him. She wasn't under any such delusions anymore.

"You know that I'm sorry, right?" She asked, looking straight ahead. "For hurting you, with the adoption. More sorry than I've ever been about anything."

Brandon sighed. "I do know," he responded simply. They looked at each other intensely for a moment before losing each other's gaze, realizing they were in plain view of their family if someone were to look out the window.

She let a piece of her troubles out into the open, hoping that Brandon would accept it as the whole story. "I miss my mom," she admitted.

Brandon's head tilted to the side as he considered her. "Is it something in particular making you think of her?"

"The anniversary of her death is tomorrow," Callie replied, a partial truth. "Jude doesn't know… I purposefully never gave him the date to fixate on every year. I remembered his real birthday instead," she smiled softly. She took a deep breath and continued. "I just want to talk to her, you know? About everything that's happened."

Brandon smiled slowly as he realized. "That can be arranged."

The next morning found them driving to Colleen's grave, though they left a note this time so their moms wouldn't worry. They didn't talk much. Callie was fingering her necklace, and Brandon kept his attention on the road, but it was still comfortable. The same ease that had settled between them the night before seemed to have lingered, which they were both grateful for.

"I'll stay here. You take whatever time you need."

"Thanks, Brandon," Callie said gratefully.

He nodded at her wordlessly. _Of course._

Once Callie reached her mom's grave, she took a deep breath and sat cross-legged in front of it. She traced her name on the stone, thinking. Her mother's grave was located under a large maple tree. It was currently somewhat hidden in shadows.

"Hi, Mom," Callie finally spoke, already tearful. "I'm sorry I haven't visited in a very long time. It's been crazy, but I guess you know that, right?"

"Jude's safe," Callie continued. "I tried my best to take care of him. Sometimes I didn't succeed, but he's doing really well now, with our moms."

"But I'm…" Callie stopped, choking on a sob. She wrapped her arms around her knees, holding herself together. "I'm not doing well, Mom, not at all. People think I am, but I'm not. I think about running away a lot. I wish I had you to talk to, but I don't, and I don't know what to do. I'm in love with my adopted brother." She stopped, realizing abruptly that she had never said exactly that out loud before. "And he's in love with me. He's so good to me, Mom, even now, even after I've hurt him so badly. You'd like him. But we're not supposed to feel like this." Callie breathed in and out slowly, closing her eyes.

"I wish you had told me about Robert. I wish the court hadn't lost my real birth certificate. I wouldn't have been raped, or hurt. I wouldn't have had to protect Jude. He wouldn't have gotten hurt. I've been angry with you about that. But then I probably never would have met the Fosters, and I would be a completely different Callie… So I don't know. And I know you must have wondered; if you told Robert you were pregnant, would he stay with you just for the baby? It must have been awful when he chose his family over you. I know you were scared of them. They're scary people," Callie said, chuckling a little, remembering Robert's father.

"I've been thinking a lot about why you kept me," Callie whispered, as if someone could overhear. "You must have been so scared, so heartbroken… But you kept me anyway. You were so brave." Callie stopped. "Maybe you already know, Mom, but I…I'm pregnant." She let out a deep breath and closed her eyes, crying silently. "Brandon and I used protection, but I guess condoms aren't 100% effective. Just bad luck, which I'm pretty familiar with." She laughed, despite herself.

"Mom, please, what do I do?" Callie waited, hoping for a sign. There was none. Callie sighed. "My family would be so angry, and not just with me, with Brandon, too. Actually, they'll probably be more angry at him than at me, and that's not fair. And what about his future?" Callie rubbed her nose, anxious. "I would have to annul the adoption."

More tears fell, and Callie swiped them away impatiently.

"If I got… the abortion, I wouldn't have to tell anyone. Not Brandon, not Stef and Lena. I looked it up," Callie admitted to her dead mother, sounding guilty. "Thank you, California," she stated, somewhat sarcastically and somewhat gratefully. "Things could stay the same." She waited. "Would you hate me if I did that?" Callie whispered to her mom, desperately. She didn't get a response, not that she expected one.

"I think I would hate me," Callie finally admitted, crying. "I'm pro-choice, and I feel ridiculous saying it, but I would feel guilty. I could run and never let anyone know why, have the baby, start over alone, like you did." She took a few deep breaths, feeling the ground beneath her, grounding her. "But I _can't_ make the mistake you made, not telling Robert. I forgive you, but I just _can't._ And I think Brandon or Jude would figure it out if I ran anyway. I promised Jude I would never run away again."

"So I guess that leaves telling them all, right? Stand tall, face the storm?" Callie asked. And something happened at that moment, something remarkable. As the sun was rising higher in the sky, the shadow created by the tress passed, and light came in through the branches. Callie closed her eyes, letting her skin soak up the warmth, and smiled for the first time in days. "Okay," she whispered to her mom. "Thank you, Mom. I love you."

She stood up slowly, walking back toward Brandon's car. When she reached him, she reached for his hand immediately. He looked at her, wondering what was going on. In an unspoken agreement, they hadn't touched, even briefly, since Idyllwild.

"Take me to the beach?" Callie asked.

"Callie…"

"It's not what you think," Callie reassured him, moving her thumb reassuringly across the back of his hand. In her head, she thought, _It's actually way worse._

"Okay," Brandon replied slowly, looking at her questioningly.

Once they reached the beach, Callie led Brandon to walk along the water's edge. She wished for more privacy, but realized that talking about this at their house was not smart. She also knew that to these strangers, their conversation wasn't a matter of concern.

She reached for Brandon's hand again, and he looked at her questioningly, again.

"Callie, seriously, what's going on?"

 _Now or never…_ "I'm pregnant."

It was odd how everyone else kept moving along on the beach, jogging or chatting. Callie's and Brandon's whole world had just changed. Brandon pulled on her hand gently to get her to stop walking. Callie turned to face Brandon, scared but ready. Brandon looked absolutely shell-shocked.

She reached up and cupped his cheek, stroking it reassuringly. "I know," she said reassuringly. "Look, let's keep walking. Let it sink in. We have a couple of hours before we have to go home." She liked the idea of moving, even if it wasn't toward an easy solution that would solve all of their problems. She knew that didn't exist.

Brandon nodded, slowly. They kept walking for a couple of minutes before Brandon squeezed Callie's hand briefly, letting her know that he was ready to talk. "How are you feeling?"

She loved him for so many reasons, but reason one million had to be his first question.

"I'm okay. No morning sickness, nothing obvious. I just missed a period, and that never happens to me, so I grabbed one of Lena's old tests and took it at school."

"How long have you known?" Brandon asked.

"Just two days," Callie responded, not wanting him to think she was hiding this from him. She had considered hiding it, but telling him that would only hurt him.

"You could have said something," Brandon told her, but it was a light rebuke.

Callie shrugged. "I thought I was being paranoid at first. We used protection."

"Lot of good that did," Brandon murmured. He kept thinking. "That's why you were missing your mom," he realized.

Callie nodded.

"What do you want to do?" Brandon asked, finally.

"I don't think I can get an abortion, Brandon," Callie confided, knowing that alone was huge. If she didn't get an abortion, then they would have to tell Moms.

Brandon stopped, pulling her with him to sit in the sand. At first, Callie thought he was angry with her for not being willing to terminate the pregnancy, but she quickly realized that wasn't the case at all when he pulled her to sit between his legs, with her back resting against his chest. She realized he just wanted to be closer, and it warmed her heart. He wrapped his arms around her comfortingly, grabbing her hands.

She took a deep breath and let Brandon's scent settle her. "I think I want to keep the baby. But I know I'm asking a lot of you."

"No more than you're asking of yourself," Brandon contradicted her.

She shrugged. "Okay, but college, piano, your future…"

"I know it's going to be really hard, Callie. I know we'll both have to make sacrifices. But once the family gets used to the idea, we'll have lots of help. It'll be okay," He said, gently.

"They're going to be livid," Callie spoke fearfully. "It's going to make every other fight look like nothing. They don't even know about you seeing me at GU, Brandon. We're going to have to explain everything..."

Brandon sighed. "It's not going to be pretty, no."

"And they'll have to nullify the adoption."

"Are you okay with that?" Brandon asked.

"I'm not actually that worried about it," Callie said, truthfully. "Everything changed when I saw that positive. I just hate the idea of hurting Stef and Lena."

Brandon nodded, understanding. They watched the waves for a while, relishing in allowing themselves to touch, even if it was for comfort's sake.

"I think we should just go home and tell them," Brandon spoke quietly. "Get it over with."

Callie tensed in his arms, but nodded, agreeing.

"Can I kiss you?" Brandon asked suddenly. 

Callie smiled, turning and kissing him in response. It was meant to be quick, but they hadn't kissed since the cabin, and their hunger for each other was very real. Brandon nipped at Callie's lower lip before kissing her jaw, her neck and her shoulder. Callie whimpered in response, and her fingers wound themselves into Brandon's hair and pulled, trying to bring him as close to her as possible. His hands went immediately to the small of Callie's back, going underneath her shirt to touch skin, pressing her into him. They eventually pulled apart very reluctantly, aware they were in public.

"So… I know for a fact my dad is on duty, and if we have to face hell in a few hours anyway…" Brandon smirked at Callie, who laughed in reply.

"Let's go!"

So they did. They went to Mike's apartment and made love, affirming that they would never be without each other again. Then, they went home and faced the consequences of their actions. It was the toughest conversation either of them had ever had as Stef and Lena were indeed furious and hurt, but the rest was even more difficult. Their only comfort was that they were able to face it together, and that as Brandon predicted, their family helped tremendously. Brandon and Callie remarked several times to their mothers in the subsequent years that they never would have been able to be half-decent parents without their help. Even Jude eventually came around to the idea of being a proud uncle, and Mariana made it her mission to prevent Callie from getting teased at school so that she and Brandon could graduate on time.

They didn't live happily ever after, but they lived, and they loved.

A/N I've been feeling so resistant to the possibility of a pregnancy plotline for 3B. I see why people expect it based on 3.05, and I understand that it's the only obvious way for them to get found out/be together, but I am just not a fan. My least favorite idea would be a false positive pregnancy test because those tests are accurate at least 99% of the time when it comes up positive. That stuff makes me crazy when I see it on TV.

 **Also, sorry, I have to say this - Listen, teens, teen pregnancy is** _ **not romantic.**_ **Okay? In reality, it is really super hard to handle. Be safe out there.**

Despite that, I couldn't shake this story from my head. What if Callie faces the same dilemma as her mother and does things differently? Despite myself, I found that idea interesting.

Let me know what you think!


End file.
